Born Markus Rothkowitz in what is now Latvia, Mark Rothko (1903-70) immigrated to the United States at age ten. Haunted by memories of pogroms and persecutions, Rothko felt himself to be an outsider, yet he rose to become one of the best-known painters of his era on the strength of his bold abstract expressionist canvasses. In this succinct biography, Annie Cohen-Solal traces the primary events of Rothko's life and career, which culminated in his most radical project: the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas.